Wat Misaka
Misaka in college with Utah in 1946–47 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 21, 1923 Ogden, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | November 20, 2019 (aged 95) Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Listed weight | 150 lb (68 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Ogden (Ogden, Utah) |
| College |
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| NBA draft | 1947: 7th round, 61st overall pick |
| Drafted by | New York Knicks |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 15 |
| Career history | |
| 1947 | New York Knicks |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Wat Misaka | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | 三阪 亙 | ||||
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Wataru Misaka (December 21, 1923 – November 20, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. A 5-foot-7-inch (1.70 m) point guard of Japanese descent, he broke a color barrier in professional basketball by being the first non-white player and the first player of Asian descent to play in the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The National Basketball Association (NBA), which was created in 1949 with the merger of the BAA and the NBL, later adopted the BAA's history and thus considers Misaka to be the first non-white player of the league.
Misaka played college basketball for the Utah Utes and led the team to win the 1944 NCAA and 1947 NIT championships. He took a two-year hiatus between these titles to serve in the United States Army in the American occupation of Japan. Misaka subsequently played three games for the New York Knicks during the 1947–48 season.